With the auditorium at LAPD headquarters filled with a few hundred officers, a recording was played of the phone call Escalante’s hysterical wife made to a 911 dispatcher after discovering him in the street.

They arranged extra time for study -- such as Escalante's rule that if you were struggling, you had to return to his classroom after the final bell and spend three hours doing homework, plus take some Saturday and summer classes, too.

One main story revolves around "Ace" Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman), a crime boss just out of prison; his chauffeur of many talents, Gus Demitriou (Dennis Farina); and the Irish-bred horse Ace has stabled at the track with trainer Turo Escalante (John Ortiz).